


An Avery By Another Name

by Jerry_Larchive



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M, Mel's prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-03 21:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12756186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jerry_Larchive/pseuds/Jerry_Larchive
Summary: April may have kept her Kepner last name but that doesn't mean that she didn't become an Avery when she married Jackson. She finds out she didn't just marry the man, she married a whole new world. Resistance is futile, particularly when her mother-in-law, frustrated with her own son's lack of interest in acting Avery, decides that April just might be the key to drawing him toward his legacy. But before that can happen, April needs to learn what it's like to be an Avery. And Catherine might be surprised to learn what it means to have a Kepner in the family.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am honored to write this for Melusha, one of my favorite fellow shippers, fanfic writer, reader, commentator, and answerer of my stupid Japril questions, who provided the really fun prompt. I doubt she expected this to become a multi. I know I didn't. I just hope I'm doing it justice here.

In the beginning, she really had had no idea what she was getting into.

April Kepner was Mrs Jackson Avery, well, sort of. She had kept her Kepner and he had been happy to have her do it. She still couldn't quite believe it. For one thing, she had expected to become Mrs Matthew Taylor a week earlier. But that hadn't happened in a most public and spectacular way. Twenty four hours later though, in a very non-public and simple ceremony, she had instead married her best friend, turned virginity taker, turned too easily spurned former lover, turned intern screwing ex boyfriend, turned soulmate again.

Not that anybody on earth except herself, Jackson, and the Great State of Nevada, knew anything about that last part. To the rest of the world Jackson was just a selfish prick and April was a callous, jilting, leave em at the altar, can't make up her mind, bitch, who had literally run out on her groom with said prick only to decide that she didn't want him either. Neither of them were too popular right now in certain circles, which happened to be the circles they lived and worked in.

But to April, the only circle that really mattered was the one around their secret little marriage bubble. But she knew the bubble was a short timer, fun as it was, since it was getting harder and harder to hide it from everyone. April had once told a patient that if she were married, she'd be _doing it_ all day long. And, true to her word, she and Jackson were on pace to make porn stars envious. And that alone had almost led to discovery and a very embarrassing popping of the secret marriage bubble three times already. They just couldn't seem to keep their hands, and other body parts, off of each other.

The predicted demise of the secret part of the marriage bubble came about quickly and soon it became known throughout the land that Jackson and April were man and wife. While this certainly had its advantages, it also left a few wrinkles to iron out. And a few of those wrinkles belonged to Jackson's mother, Catherine Avery.

On a good day, Catherine was a force to be reckoned with. When unhappy about something, she turned into something akin to a pyroclastic flow, capable of wiping out everything in her path. To say Catherine was disappointed to find out her only child had eloped without her knowledge, is like saying it rains a little in Seattle. So when she showed up at the hospital, flames and smoke figuratively billowing from her ears, April's first reaction had been terror.

Had it been anyone other than April and Catherine Avery might very well have committed murder that day. But long before April had become close to Jackson, she had made a connection with his mother. That connection had grown over the years to the point that Catherine had made a long running campaign of trying to get April laid. Little did she realize that her most effective move in that regard had occurred twenty something years earlier when she had given birth to Jackson.

But any joy or sense of accomplishment Catherine might have taken in April's now in overdrive sex life, was washed away in her anger that they had married without her knowledge, approval, and participation. And she arrived at the hospital that day eager to make her feelings known to her son and his bride.

Had Jackson been left to deal with her alone, it would have been a disaster. With a stubbornness to match his mother's, it would have no doubt culminated in a civil war and the body count would have been high. Fortunately though, April met Catherine's belligerence with just the right amount of understanding, empathy, and accommodation, allowing a bad situation to end with a tender mother-son moment instead and Jackson's quiet declaration the April was, in fact, the _one_.

Another outcome from the meeting was a Post Nuptial agreement that neither Jackson nor April ever expected to see the light of day again. The need for this document though, came as quite a shock to April, as it provided her first glimpse into what it meant to become part of the Avery dynasty.

As a surgeon, April of course was familiar with the Harper Avery Award and knew somewhat of the organization that bestowed it; the Harper Avery Foundation. What she was shocked to learn was that the Foundation was much more powerful than she would have believed, controlling over 480 million dollars. She was also stunned when Catherine informed her that if and when April and Jackson had children, they would start being involved in the Foundation at age fifteen and become voting members of the Board at age eighteen. The very thought of that boggled April's mind.

Not every outcome of the day was positive though as April realized there were things, serious things, that she and Jackson would have to work out between them, many of them directly related to those future Board members they would eventually produce. She soon learned that working them out wasn't going to be a walk in the park either.

Another thing April hadn't anticipated was that being the spouse of an Avery would itself come with quite a bit of Avery baggage. She got her first inkling just two weeks later when she and Jackson were summoned to Boston so she could be introduced to Harper Avery and other key members of the Foundation that bore her husband's last name.

She would have been less anxious had Jackson not been so tense about the whole thing.

“You're worried I won't make a good impression?” she had asked as they sat side-by-side in first class.

“I'm worried _they_ won't. You, I have no worries about.” he had answered.

“Good.” she had replied, grabbing his hand.

“Now where's that attendant? I need another drink.” Jackson had his angry face on. That did not bode well.

They landed in Boston just a few minutes late and were met by Catherine and her driver.

“Jackson.” she gave her son a kiss on his cheek.

“April, welcome to Boston, dear.” she gave April a kiss as well. Then she looked her up and down. “Sweetheart, I thought I told you, we're going directly to the Avery building for a reception. You were supposed to arrive dressed.”

April's face colored immediately. She _was_ dressed, but apparently not to the standard required.

Jackson wasn't paying attention and instead was already getting into the car while the driver loaded their bags into the trunk of the towncar.

“Catherine, I'm so sorry. If we can go to the hotel first I can change very quickly.” April stammered.

“No, no time for that. Harper does not like to be kept waiting.” Catherine looked April up and down again. “That will just have to do.” She climbed into the car, leaving April standing alone and biting her lower lip on the sidewalk. This was not a good start.

  
  


“...and the entire Board of Directors will be here so please, Jackson, make an effort.” Catherine had been engaged in her effort to motivate her son for the entire thirty minute drive to the Avery building, but Jackson's response had been to simply sit silently and gaze out of the tinted windows as the streets of Boston's downtown streamed by. April, on the other hand, had begun to get very nervous. According to Catherine, the Avery Foundation Board of Directors was a veritable who's who of health care notables.

April knew her husband detested the business side of healthcare, unfortunate because his Avery legacy dictated he take an active role in the Harper Avery Foundation, an organization that not only owned many healthcare facilities across the US and Canada, but also funded and sponsored a wide range of research projects and patient services across the globe. Catherine Avery had been one of the key players in building the Foundation up to it's current prominence, despite the fact that she had become an Avery by marriage to a man who had also wanted nothing to do with it. April was soon to realize that Catherine was an anomaly in the Foundation for other reasons as well.

At least April had to only concern herself with making a good impression at this evening's reception. Poor Jackson would also have to endure a day long Board meeting the next day. No wonder he's in a bad mood, she thought.

Arriving at the Avery Building, an imposing edifice just a block and a half from the State Street Bank building, doormen were on hand to assist them from the car and escort them into the lobby. The reception was being held in the top floor executive lounge, a cavernous cherry-wood paneled room, with incredible views of Boston Harbor.

Immediately, Catherine hustled Jackson into the crowd to begin greeting and shaking hands with the Foundation mucky mucks. April, not at all unhappy at being left to her own devices, made her way to the windowed side of the room that overlooked the Harbor as the sun began to set.

When she could finally tear her eyes away from the view and survey the other guests, she did, indeed, feel somewhat underdressed. Every man in the room, except the wait staff of course, was wearing a custom tailored suit that probably cost a thousand dollars or more. A few of the gentlemen were accompanied by women, mostly young and attractive, wearing dresses in that same price range. April realized that one of those suits would have purchased ten of her elegant, but off-the-rack, dresses. Fortunately, a waiter happened by right then to offer her a glass of wine, which she gratefully accepted to bolster her self confidence, or at least blunt the pain of its departure.

Her eyes found her husband and she was glad to see he had managed to shed his angry face and was now shaking hands with an older, very distinguished looking gentleman, while his mother looked on approvingly. It scared her a little that Jackson could be such a chameleon like that, shedding one persona for another as required by the circumstance. She had never been good at that. With her, you got April Kepner, regardless of the situation. She prayed he'd never feel the need to do that with her.

For the moment anyway, she wasn't required to do too much, which was fine by her, so she turned back to the view of Boston's Main Channel as the lights around the harbor began to come on.

“Quite a view, isn't it?” an older woman appeared to her left. She was dressed in a simple but elegant black dress, a single string of white pearls around her neck. Her accent identified her as a local, but upper crust for sure. She too held a glass of chardonnay.

“Yes. Yes it is.” April agreed, turning toward her.

The woman offered her hand. “Caroline.”

April took it. “April.”

“So April, what's your connection to this esteemed group?” Caroline asked with a smile.

April thought the woman's smile kind. “I'm married to Jackson. I'm sorry, I'm married to Doctor Jackson Avery.” April remembered this was a formal gathering and that she needed to act like it.

The woman eyed April carefully, a gentle smile playing about her lips. “Ah, you are Catherine's Doctor Kepner.” she said lightly. “I am pleased to meet you.”

April was surprised to hear that. What did she mean _Catherine's Doctor Kepner_? “Catherine, uh, Doctor Catherine Avery is my mother-in-law.” she stammered, quite thrown off by the way Caroline had phrased it.

Caroline laughed. “Doctor Kepner..., April, I'm sorry to have caught you off guard. Catherine and I are old and dear friends.” The woman took a sip of her wine. “Though you might be surprised to hear it, she speaks very highly of you.”

“I will confess I am a bit surprised to hear it.” April admitted. Huh? Catherine speaks highly of me?

“Yes, we're counting on you to help shake things up a bit here. Don't let us down.” Caroline smiled.

In spite of the smile and the light tone the woman used, April's instincts told her that this woman was both formidable and on the level. Did Catherine have some plan for April? If so, it would be good to know sooner than later.

Just then a man called “Caroline.” and beckoned to her from across the room.

Caroline subtly rolled her eyes. “Ah, duty calls. I'll look forward to chatting with you again soon, April.” The woman made her way toward the man who had called for her and the group he was speaking with.

Meanwhile, April found herself staring across the room at her mother-in-law, who was now moving group to group, shaking hands and dispensing polite hugs. As April pondered what Caroline had said, she saw Catherine and Carolyn make eye contact. April's breath caught in her throat. Did Carolyn just nod to Catherine? April couldn't be sure. What she was sure of was that a moment later, Catherine looked directly at April..., and smiled.

  
  


A few minutes later, the sound of silver tinkling against glass signaled the crowd that someone was at the podium and waiting to speak.

“Distinguished Board members and guests, welcome!” Catherine spoke into the microphone. “I'm pleased that so many of you are able to attend in person this year. We have much to celebrate and much more to look forward to. But before we lock you all in tomorrow to plan that future success, we'll let you enjoy each other's company and the hospitality of our esteemed host, Harper Avery.”

“Catherine has assured me that you will all be billed accordingly.” an elderly gentleman announced from where he was standing to her right. The room erupted in laughter.

“And with that, let me turn the microphone over to Doctor Harper Avery to personally welcome you.” Catherine added, before surrendering the podium to her father-in-law.

So that's the legendary Harper Avery, thought April, as he proceeded to call out the prominent persons in the room to welcome them to the gathering. Although getting on in years, he still looked pretty spry. While she looked forward to meeting the surgical icon, she also dreaded it. Jackson had warned her that his grandfather was neither warm nor kindly. Nor was he shy about sharing his opinions, particularly his negative ones. The best she could hope for, he had warned, was to make a good enough impression that she stayed off his radar.

Harper's eyes made their way around the room. April's attention was heightened when he got to Caroline and the man who April assumed to be her husband.

“Welcome to Caroline Kennedy, as always the rose among all us thorns. And her husband, Edwin, or as we like to call him, Mr Caroline Kennedy.” polite laughter rippled through the room.

Caroline's husband seemed to be a good sport about it all. But April hardly noticed that. Holy crap! Caroline was Caroline Kennedy. THE Caroline Kennedy. Holy crap!

Her head swimming with that realization, she still managed to notice something that set off some alarms in her head. As Harper went around the room with his introductions, all of the players seemed to share two obvious characteristics. With the exception of Caroline and Catherine, they were all male. And with the exception of Jackson and his mother, they were all white.

Her gaze shot over to Catherine, who now stood next to Caroline. They were both looking at her intently. As though reading her mind, Catherine nodded and Caroline smiled a tight smile. Holy crap, what had she gotten herself into?

  
  


“Harper,” Catherine touched her father-in-law's arm, “meet the newest addition to the family. Harper, April. April, Harper.”

April, unsure if an Avery should hug in this situation, tentatively stuck out her hand. Harper Avery looked down at it as though she were asking for money. “April Avery? Sounds like a cartoon character.” he responded gruffly as he looked her up and down, frowning.

“Kepner. April Kepner.” she corrected.

“Harper, she kept her own name.” Catherine informed him. “I believe I mentioned that to you earlier.”

“Kepner? That's even worse. What, the name Avery not good enough for you?” he demanded.

“Jackson and I decided it was best if we each kept our names.” April responded, emphasizing the word _each_. Two glasses of Chardonnay has restored her self confidence almost one hundred percent.

Harper shot an angry look at Catherine. “Is Jackie going the way of his father now?”

“No, no, Harper, it's just the way they do things now.” Catherine reassured him.

Harper turned his attention back on April. “At least tell me you're a doctor.” 

“Yes, I am a doctor.”

“Let me guess. Pediatrics or some such nonsense.”

“Trauma.” April replied flatly. Insulting her besties specialty was not going to earn any points with her.

“Couldn't cut it in cardio, huh?” Harper replied gruffly.

Whether it was the wine, jet lag, or meeting Caroline Kennedy, April was just not going to roll over for this old grumpus. “I prefer Trauma. More challenging.” she replied.

“Hmm, I guess that might be true. At least you're a surgeon. And you're not doing boob jobs all day long.” Harper Avery admitted, while taking an open swipe at his grandson

It was one thing to insult Arizona. It was another to go after Jackson.

“Your grandson is one of our finest surgeons, sir, and his work with burn patients and pioneering skin grafts is very highly regarded. You must be very proud of him. I know I am.” April replied testily. You wanna go, old man? I wanna go!

Harper looked at the woman his grandson had married. Fiesty, he thought. I like that. Trauma? That had been a test. All the best surgeons he knew were trauma surgeons. And standing by her man, even to his grandfather? He had been worried when Catherine had told him about this April Kepner. But now he wasn't. Jackie had clearly made a good choice here. It didn't hurt that Catherine felt that way too.

Catherine looked at her daughter-in-law and smiled. She hadn't had the chance to coach her but if she had, this is exactly what she would have advised. April didn't have her long years of experience with Harper Avery so she probably didn't realize that she was winning him over, sure as his own brash young daughter-in-law had years ago.

“Well, Doctor Kepner, welcome to the family. Now, if you'll excuse me, I see a gentleman over there that needs to vote my way on a couple of key initiatives tomorrow.” He turned again to Catherine. “I'm still not sure why I have to kiss all these asses to get a Foundation with my name on it to do what I want.”

“Because, dear, you didn't have four hundred and eighty million dollars in the bank when we started this foundation.” Catherine explained patiently.

“Humph!” he grunted. And off he went, muttering under his breath.

“Well, _that_ went well.” April said sardonically.

Catherine looked at her. “Sweetheart, that couldn't have gone better. He's a crotchety old man but one that appreciates strong women.”

“And he thinks I'm strong?” April asked her incredulously. She had also been tempted to ask why, if the legendary doctor appreciated women so much, there weren't more of them on the Board? But she refrained.

Catherine's expression hardened. “You _are_ strong, April, and don't you doubt that for a minute. You have to be in order to survive in this world.” Catherine indicated the room.

“But this isn't my world,” April protested.

“But of course it is, April. It is Jackson's world and as long as you are married to him, it's your world too. And he needs you. I won't always be here to help him.”

“Oh.” April answered. She hadn't really thought about that. Jackson was irrevocably bound to the future of the Harper Avery Foundation. Someday, he would be _The Avery_. It was something he was born to, not drawn to. But that wouldn't matter when the time came. Yes, April could see Catherine's point. He would need help. He would need her. Boy oh boy, when she stepped off that alter she had stepped into far more than she had ever imagined.

“April, did you bring a business suit?”

“What? No. why?”

“Because you need to be appropriately dressed tomorrow.”

“Appropriately dressed? Why would I need a suit to sightsee around Boston?”

“Because, dear, you won't be sightseeing around Boston. You will be attending the Board meeting and learning what it means to be an Avery. Expect my driver to pick you up at 7:30. That will give us an hour before the meeting to find you something. It will be tight but we can make it work.”

“Nothing will be open that early.” April protested.

“I'll make a few calls.” Catherine assured her. “You _will_ be at that meeting and in the appropriate attire.”

April knew there would be arguing against her. She may have kept her name, but it didn't look like it was going to keep her from becoming any less an Avery.

 


	2. TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a whirlwind personal shopping expedition April experiences her first Harper Avery Foundation Board meeting.  
> It's a rocky start as April's attempt to get Jackson on task backfires and puts her on her mother-in-law's bad side.  
> But April Kepner's usually able to get herself out of trouble. Would the Board meeting be the exception?

“I'm sorry, who are you again?”

April had been surprised to find a older, smartly dressed woman, in the car that picked her up the next morning.

“Rose Abbott. I'm a buyer. Doctor Avery engaged me to accompany you to purchase a suit this morning.”

“A _buyer_? That's a job?” April's tastes in clothes ran more towards functionality and practicality, rather than high end fashion.

“Yes. Typically I work for a store to purchase their inventory. But occasionally, as today illustrates, I act as a consultant to an individual needing to procure specific attire.”

“So, you're going to help me find a suit?”

“Precisely.”

“Okay.” April guessed she could stand to have some help. “Where do we start? What's open this early?”

Rose smiled condescendingly. “Doctor Kepner, nothing is open this early. Nor do we have time to go store to store.”

April was a bit confused. “Well, then, we're kind of DOA aren't we?”

“I'm not familiar with the term, _DOA,_ however one of the major benefits of engaging my services are the professional relationships I have here in Boston. I have made a private shopping appointment with two of my clients, though I believe we'll find everything we need in the first.”

“Wow!” April exclaimed. “Those are some relationships!”

“Yes, they are.” the woman replied. Avery money hadn't hurt either. “60 Northern Ave.”, she told the driver.

Louis Boston is a Boston landmark, in business since the 1800s. The store carries a wide array of clothing and accessories, everything a professional woman could need to dress for success. A professional woman with a lot of money to spend, that is.

A person appeared at the door even before April and Rose reached it. They were ushered in and no less than three neatly dressed sales people attended to them.

Rose Abbott proved to be very good at her job. With just a few directions she had the three LB staffers flying off in different directions to do her bidding. April meanwhile was ushered toward a well appointed area where she was given both coffee and cucumber infused water, while she waited to see what Rose Abbott had chosen for her to try.

The first person back had three suits on hangers and April was bid to try them on in a dressing room that was nearly as large as her old apartment back in Seattle. The first suit was nice, fit her well, but a bit too conservative for her tastes, which had evolved considerably since losing her virginity in San Francisco.

The second suit though was pretty perfect. It fit her perfectly, accentuating her form in all the right places without sacrificing class or modesty. Rose Abbott agreed.

By then, the second sales person had returned with a multitude of shoeboxes and April tried on several pair before choosing a pair with enough heel height to make up for her petite stature. The shoes too fit perfectly and April marveled at that since she hadn't told Rose any of her sizes.

“This pair is perfect.” she told the woman.

“Yes, those do go well with the suit. Do you want to get a second pair while we're here?”

“Can I?” she asked, looking at the still impressive pile of unopened shoe boxes.

“Of course.” Abbott responded. “After all, my instructions from Doctor Avery were to make sure you have everything you need. And we all know that every outfit needs at least two pair of shoes to go with it.”

April smiled. She liked this woman. “Well we wouldn't want to disappoint Catherine.” And before long April had found a second pair of shoes that she also loved.

The third salesperson arrived with an assortment of accessories for April to choose from including purses, scarves, and even jewelry. In less than an hour, April was outfitted and ready to spend the day with the Harper Avery Foundation executive board. At least, she mused nervously, she was dressed for it.

  
  


Catherine had been very pleased with the results of April's shopping expedition. So had Jackson.

“Wow!” he had said, “Did I ever tell you how attractive a business suit is on a woman?”

April's brows arched. “Any woman?”

“You, specifically, I meant.” Jackson scrambled to recover.

“Uh huh, kind of fumbled that one, Doctor Avery.”

“Hard to think straight when you look that great.” Jackson pleaded, smiling at her.

“Nice save.” April replied.

“Thank you.” Jackson smirked, his eyes still undressing her.

Funny thing about guys, April mused, their appreciation for a woman's clothing was directly proportional to their desire to remove it.

  
  


The meeting was called to order right on time. Jackson, as a member of the Board, sat at the massive oak table along with a dozen or so other members of the governing board, including Caroline Kennedy and of course, his mother. April, sat behind him, in a chair set against the wall, along with a number of other observers and assistants.

Everyone had received the agenda inside a folder and it described a lengthy list of topics up for discussion. As she perused the topics, two jumped out at her. The first was a proposal to change Foundation policy on providing late term abortions. Under heavy political pressure from conservatives, the Foundation would consider turning away late term abortion requests, regardless of circumstance.

The second agenda item of interest to April was in how best to respond to a lawsuit that had been brought against the Foundation for salary discrimination, specifically the disparity between how white male employees were compensated versus women and minorities.

But before either of these agenda items came up, a number of mundane, to April at least, financial items had to be discussed and debated. April tried to keep up but frankly she found herself rather lost in the dry numbers discussion. By the time the mid morning break approached, about the only thing she remembered was being shocked at the large numbers being bandied about. She tended to hyperventilate when talking in many hundreds of dollars so the many millions being thrown around by the Foundation's Board almost made her sick to her stomach.

Looking at Jackson, she could see that he wasn't very impressed by those same numbers. If anything, he was registering his extreme level of boredom with the entire proceedings. He had spent most of the morning checking email on his phone. Or maybe he was playing that game that everyone was talking about, _Mad Birds_ , or something like that?

April looked at her mother-in-law and saw Catherine had noted his indifference as well by the way she was glaring at her son. Uh oh, that wasn't good. This was the very thing that she was always criticizing Jackson for. It irritated her to no end that he had no real interest in the running of the Foundation she had been so instrumental in bringing to life. Now, it was obvious to April that Catherine was near the boiling point with Jackson's lack of attention at this very important meeting.

_Jackson! Put away ur phone! ur mother is about to have a stroke_ **:(**

Jackson looked down at his phone then sat up straighter in his chair, putting his phone out of sight.

_**I have nvr been more bored than I am right now** _ He texted back.  _**Id rather go to church than this** _ **|-()**

April didn't appreciate that last comment.

_Funny! Try paying attn and maybe u'll find it more interesting **:-(**_

Jackson smiled grimly.

_**If it was at all interesting I might be paying attn** _ **://**

_sry but u have 2 force urself_

April replied. At least he was doing a good job of hiding his texting. But the next text made her blush.

_**Rather b taking that suit off u** _ **:-P**

_L8R! Concentrate!!! **(-_-* )**_

_**if I concentrate hard enuf will that shirt unbutton itself?** _ **'-)**

_Stop it! Im not kidding!!! **X-(**_

_**IWSN!!!** _ **:* :* :***

_**:-O** Jackson Avery!!!  _

_**R U wearing anything under that skirt** _ **;)**

Blushing furiously, April quickly shut off her phone screen and dropped the phone into her purse. Then to her eternal embarrassment she looked toward Catherine who had continued looking hard at her son and wondered why he was suddenly looking down and smiling. She shifted her gaze toward April and saw her blush a deep red as she quickly shut off her phone screen and put it away. Catherine Avery was a very smart woman and certainly capable of putting two and two together. And now April too was getting the Catherine glare. She slunk down guiltily in her seat. Boy, Jackson was in hot water now.

  
  


At the break, Catherine made a beeline toward the couple. Jackson had stood and turned toward his wife with his little mischievous smile which normally melted her instantly. At this moment though she was pretty much fireproof against his charm. But before she could utter the thoughts she had in mind, her mother-in-law beat her to it.

“Are you both out of your minds?” Catherine demanded through gritted teeth.

Jackson, realizing he had two angry women on his hands, elected to flee rather than fight. “Oh, there's Jack Wesson. I need to ask him what he thinks of that proposal to outsource IT to a service provider. Excuse me.”

April stared after him open mouthed. First he gets her into trouble with his mother, then he ducks out to leave her to face the music by herself. No amount of Avery charm would be able to save him from her wrath once this meeting was over.

“April!” Catherine hissed, reminded her that she was still there and still angry at her. “I thought I was clear that you are here to keep him on task rather than distract him from it even more.”

April turned back to face her mother-in-law. “Catherine, I know that must have looked ..”

“Like you were texting each other back and forth, about what I shudder to think?”

“Well, yes, we were texting toward the end but...”

“April, Jackson needs to pay attention to the business at hand. Someday he will be expected to lead this organization. But these men will not allow themselves to be led if they believe Jackson is a lightweight.”

“Jackson is not a lightweight.” April protested.

“Yes, well the impression he is giving is that he may well be.” answered Catherine.

April bit her lower lip. This is exactly why she had texted him to begin with.

Catherine continued. “And the last thing he needs is you helping him look like one.”

In her mind, April rehearsed the choice words she would have for her husband later.

“April! Can't you pay attention either?”

“I'm sorry. What were you saying?”

“I said,” Catherine underlined the word with her annoyance, “that when we reconvene we'll start getting into the meat of the agenda. And Jackson will need to pay attention so the conversation goes the way we want it to. I do hope he's read the position brief we prepared for him. He very likely will need to speak to assure our allies and opponents that we have a strong and unified position on these issues.”

“Uh, I'm sure Jackson did the preparation required.” April lied. She wasn't at all sure that Jackson had read anything.

“He better have. His grandfather is watching him carefully.”

April nodded. “Catherine, just to be sure, what is our position on the late term abortion question?”

Catherine looked at her, brows arching, “Why that one I was sure Jackson would have discussed with you.”

“Because I'm Christian.”

“And Pro-Life. Our position is that any abortion restrictions put us on a slippery slope so we are against caving in to Anti-abortion concerns.”

“And is that position widely shared?”

“No, the Board has been getting progressively more conservative the last few years. And the pressure from the outside is enormous. Especially your people. So the Board is pretty evenly split with a faction undecided. That's the faction we need to win over.”

April knew that by “your people” Catherine was referring to evangelical Christians, who had become heavily politicized in recent years. She detested it when people assumed that because someone was identified as being part of a certain group, it was assumed that they adhered to that groups every ideology.

April was about to reply when a staff member appeared nearby ringing a small bell to signal that the break was over and the meeting about to resume.

Catherine gave April a final look meant to convey that things had better improve or else. April got the message.

The Board members returned to their seats and the meeting reconvened. Jackson was one of the last to return, looking cautiously at April as he approached his chair. The expression she gave him convinced him that his strategy to delay his return to the last minute was a good one, for the time being at least.

There was some spirited discussion regarding whether the Foundation should fund a couple of research projects that hadn't yet produced the desired results, then they turned to the late term abortion policy discussion.

To April's distress, she could see Jackson shuffling papers, apparently just now realizing that he had neglected to do his homework. She rolled her eyes heavenward. This had just turned into the worst case scenario.

A distinguished gentleman asked for the floor and was granted it. He made a very strong case for changing the policy to prohibit late term abortions in any Harper Avery affiliated facilities. Late term abortions account for a tiny fraction of the abortions performed in the US and so the financial hit would be negligible. And it would ease the pressure being applied to them, placating, for now at least, the Pro-Life forces. Besides, late term abortions were the most difficult to defend on scientific grounds as, at that point, the fetus is nearing or has achieved, viability outside the womb.

As April surveyed the Board members, it seemed to her that a solid majority of them found the arguments made convincing. Jackson would have to make a strong case for this to go the way Catherine wanted it to go.

But Jackson did not appear anxious to make any case at all. When he didn't pick up on her visual cues, Catherine decided she needed to prompt him a little more obviously. “Jackson, perhaps you'd like to present another perspective on this issue.” she suggested.

Jackson slowly reached out to pull his microphone closer, obviously buying time to think up something to say.

“Doctor Owens makes some very good points.” Jackson began. “But I think it's important to consider that if we cave in to this pressure now, how will we stand against future pressure to stop providing abortion services? Further, uh... these people are just so hypocritical and... uh...” April saw the blood draining from Catherine's face. Jackson was failing miserably. She had to do something.

She surprised herself when she stepped forward to stand beside him. “What Doctor Avery is saying is that this issue goes much deeper than politics. It's hard to understand why people who say they don't trust the government to educate their children or spend their tax dollars want that same government to decide what a woman can or can't do with her own body.”

Doctor Owens interrupted. “Excuse me, young lady, who are you?”

It was Catherine who answered. “She is Doctor April Kepner. She is a trauma surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial and my son's wife.” Catherine looked at her and April could see she was quickly weighing her options. “And she is going to make our argument against changing this policy.”

“And what qualifies her to make this argument?” inquired a surprised Doctor Owens.

“Because I'm a pro-life Christian.” answered April. A murmur went through the room.

“A pro-life Christian making the case for late term abortions?” another Board member said aloud. “Interesting.”

Catherine nodded to April. Lord, I hope I'm not making a big mistake, she thought.

“First I want to make clear that I am personally against abortion, for any number of reasons. But my personal beliefs don't mean anything in this discussion, nor, frankly, do any of yours. Let's start by thinking about late term abortions. Doctor Owens is correct in pointing out that only a tiny fraction of abortions performed are late term, last trimester. Can anyone here venture a guess as to why?”

April's glance toward the other two women at the table told them that this was not their question to answer. When none of the men spoke up, April resumed.

“If a woman carries a child into the third trimester, then 99.9% of the time she wants that child, and the only reason for seeking an abortion then is because either the health of the mother or child is in doubt. That woman is facing a heart-rending decision. The only thing crueler than having to make that decision is having that decision taken away from her and placed in someone else's hands.”

Now it was April getting the nods. That was all the encouragement she needed. Catherine might have a fit about it later but what was the old saying, _Its easier to ask for forgiveness afterwards than permission beforehand._

“But,” she resumed, and attention returned to her, “maintaining this policy won't alleviate any of the pressure we are receiving from abortion foes, most of whom aren't likely to be swayed by that logic. So I, I should say _we_ , propose that the Harper Avery Foundation adopt a life affirming program to provide education, counseling, adoption assistance, and contraceptives so that women who come to a Harper Avery facility will have the very best support for the choices they make for themselves. Studies have shown those are much more effective at reducing abortion incidence than limiting access.”

“That sort of program would incur substantial costs.” one Board member said aloud. “I'd like to see the numbers.”

“It would garner a lot of great press.” countered another.

“And be tough for the pro-lifers to go after, saving us some legal costs.” added another.

“And if we can actually perform fewer abortions as a result...” a fourth chimed in.

“We'll be the program everyone else emulates.” Harper Avery spoke from the head of the table.

Catherine had been waiting for her chance. “Are we ready to vote then? All in favor of discontinuing late term abortions?”

Just two hands went up.

“Opposed?”

A forest of hands shot up.

“The policy remains as is.” Catherine stated for the record.

“What about the women's program?” asked one of the members who had voted against the change.

“We'll draw up the formal proposal and have it circulated to the members by next week.” Catherine answered.

“Who will be responsible for it?” asked the same gentleman.

Harper Avery cleared his throat and the room fell silent again. “I believe a women's program should be built by a woman...”

All eyes turned toward April.

Harper's eyes glinted. “don't you, Doctor Kepner?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tackling a couple of red hot women's issues here, which I agree is pretty damn arrogant for a male author. But I pledge to make every effort to stay as true to April's canon as possible.


End file.
